Bail-bearing for lanterns.



A R. PRITOHARD. BAIL BEARING FOR LANTERNS.

APPLIOATION FILED JAN. 23, 1911.

990,389; Patented Apr.25,1911.

in sass argr ALBERT R. PRITCI-IARD, OF ROCHESTER, NEW YORK.

BAIL-BEARING non nenrnnns.

Application filed January 23, 1911.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALBERT It. PnrroHARD, a citizen of the UnitedStates, and resident of Rochester, in the county of Monroe and State ofNew York, have invented certain ne and useful Improvements inBail-Bearings for Lanterns, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to the bearing by which the end of the bail orhandle is pivoted to the air-tube in a tubular lantern.

The object of the invention is to produce a durable bail-bearing ofsimple and inexpensive construction, which shall have provision forretaining the bail in upright position ready for convenient use.

To this end the invention consists in the bail-hearing hereinafterdescribed, as it is defined in the succeeding claims.

In the drawings :Figure 1 is a vertical section of a bail-bearingembodying the present invention, on an enlarged scale, the figureshowing also a portion of the air-tube and of the bail in connect-ionwith which the bearing is used; and Fig. 2 is a plan-view of thebail-bearing and the adjacent portion of the air-tube.

As the invention is applicable to tubular lanterns of ordinary form thedrawings show only a small portion of the lantern, including a part ofone of the air-tubes and one end of the bail. The air-tube may be formedof sheet metal in any ordinary or suitable manner, but is illustrated ascomprising two drawn sheet-metal members 3 and 4; united by the usualseams 5.

It has heretofore been common to produce a bail-bearing in an air-tubeby perforating the latter and forcing the sheet metal outwardly at theperforation in the form of a short nipple. In such bearings, asordinarily constructed, however, there is no additional thickness ofmetal to resist the wear or strain of the bail against the airtube, andthe bearing is liable to become enlarged so that the bail may becomeaccidentally disengaged therefrom. Furthermore, there is no provision inthe bearing itself, as ordinarily constructed, for maintaining the bailin uprightposition when desired, ind supplementary abutments or de-Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 25, 1911.

Serial No. 604,291.

vices have to be provided for this purpose upon the bail or theair-tube.

In the presentconstruction I employ an outwardly-extending nipple 6 atthe bailhearing, but make this nipple somewhat longer than usual andreinforce it by soldering upon it a sleeve or thimble 7 which preferablyts closely upon the nipple. In place of soldering the t-himble upon thenipple it may be made a tight fit and forced thereon so as to beretained by friction alone. In either case it reinforces the nipple andincreases the thickness of metal at this point in such a manner as toproduce a bearing which cannot readily be enlarged by the wear andstrain of use. The thimble may be a plain length of tubing, but I preferthe form shown in the drawings, in which the thimble is drawn from sheetmetal and has a slight inwardly-projecting flange 10 at its outer edge,which incloses the outer edge of the nipple and produces a smoothfinished appearance.

As a provision for the retention of the bail in upright position arecess 8, of rounded contour, is made in both the nipple and the thimbleat the upper part thereof, and the bail 9, being of the usual resilientwire, springs into this recess when the bail is in upright position andis thereby retained in such position ready for convenient use. Thethickening of the metal at the hearing, by the addition of the thimble,provides sufficient material to permit this construction without unduewear upon the surface which the bail frictionally engages, and thus adurable and effective bearing is produced with the use of very littlemetal additional to that of which the air-tube is formed.

I claim 1. In a tubular lantern, an air-tube having an integraloutwardlyprojecting substantially-cylindrical nipple, an annularreinforcing-sleeve surrounding and fixed to the nipple, and a resilientwire bail having an end pivoted in the nipple, and bearing upon theinner surface thereof, the upper edge of the nipple and thereinforcement being recessed to produce a detent-socket to hold the bailin upright position.

2. In a tubular lantern, an air-tube having an integraloutwardly-projecting nipple, a nipple and the thimble being recessed toproreinforcing thimble fixed upon the outer duce a detent-socket to holdthe bail in upsurface of the nipple and having a margin right position.

bent inwardly to cover the end of the nipple, ALBERT R. PRITCHARD. and aresilient Wire bail having an end piv- Witnesses:

otecl in the nipple and bearing upon the in- CLAUDE S. S. SMITH,

ner surface thereof, the upper edge of the FARNUM F. DORSEY.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. G.

